Terengganu women cyclists break national record twice en route to gold

 They shaved five seconds off the previous national record for the women's team pursuit set by Johor in 2022.

Golden girls: sisters Nur Aeirin Wadhiah Adni and Nur Aieris Madhiah Adni, along with Dahlia Hazwani Hasyim and Ameera Alya Zahiruddin after winning the women’s team pursuit. (Bernama pic)

NILAI:

Terengganu women’s track cyclists broke the national record twice on their way to a gold medal in the team pursuit event at Sukma today.

The quartet, comprising sisters Nur Aeirin Wadhiah Adni and Nur Aieris Madhiah Adni, along with Dahlia Hazwani Hasyim and Ameera Alya Zahiruddin, recorded a time of 4:42.878s in the final, shaving 0.34s off a national record set by the same quartet in the qualifying round, and five seconds off the previous record of 4:47.317 set by Johor in 2022.

Aieris Madhiah said the victory was unexpected and ended an eight-year wait for Terengganu to win the team pursuit gold, last achieved in 2018. “I feel proud to break the record for Terengganu. We finally did it today,” she told reporters after the race.

Aieris Madhiah said the team’s preparations before the games mainly focused on road events, including a centralised training camp in Thailand. The experience and teamwork built over two years of training helped the team deliver their best performance in the final, she said.

“Our track preparations were minimal because our main focus was on road events. We carried the winning momentum from the recent Sukma road team event into the velodrome. “The four of us have been training together for two years and have competed in two major national events prior to this,” she added.

Johor took silver with a time of 4:47.522, while Kedah won the bronze medal. - FMT